West London had some of the highest rates of unsolved burglaries in 2016, a report reveals.
Analysis of police data shows more than six out of 10 closed cases in Hammersmith and Fulham were left unsolved.
That is the highest in all London boroughs, with neighbouring Kensington and Chelsea third on the list.
More than half of burglaries reported to police in the Royal borough were left unsolved.
The figures were compiled by locksmithservice.co.uk and looked at how many burglaries in London were closed without a suspect being identified in 2016.
In contrast, Bromley experienced the least amount of unsolved burglaries (36%). Waltham Forest and Sutton were joint second at the bottom of the table with 37% of cases closed before they could be solved.
H&F Borough Commander Gideon Springer said burglary remained a priority for police in the borough.
According to the figures, an average 45% of burglaries in London were closed without ever identifying a suspect.
In west London, 46% of burglaries were unsolved in Hillingdon and Hounslow, and 44% in Ealing and Brent.
Harrow had the best rate in the area, with just 39% of burglaries unsolved.
Westminster is not listed in the data analysis.
Locksmithservice.co.uk also considered Londoner’s attitudes towards burglary and crime more generally. A survey of 6,935 Londoners revealed the following:
- 15.3% worry about their safety “all the time”
- 32% are “very concerned” about crime in London
- 72% feel it is "very important" that police officers tackle burglary
- 11% do not agree with the statement that "London is a good place to live"
Victor Baron, director of Locksmithservice.co.uk, said: “Break-in repairs are always a difficult call-out for us.
“Many of the victims of burglary that we deal with are left feeling vulnerable and frustrated by the crime, with little faith that their perpetrators will be brought to justice.
“After this study, we realised that many more burglars were getting away with these crimes than first anticipated which is certainly a worry for many Londoners.”
Borough Commander Springer said police always look to increase the number of crimes it solves.
“We have a team who investigate burglary crimes and target offenders, we continue to respond to all calls to burglaries or suspicious activity and arrest offenders, we prevent crimes through patrolling and giving crime prevention advice and we conduct regular operations to respond to seasonal trends," he said.
“Burglary presents particular challenges in regard to identifying those responsible and we accept there is more work to be done - and are always seeking ways to increase the number of these crimes we solve.”
He said innovative technology such as footwear scanners, predictive crime mapping and the use of MetTrace for marking property have all helped tackle the offence, and added: “Burglary remains a priority issue for us due to its impact on victims.”
Keep up to date with the latest news in west London via the free getwestlondon app.
You can even set it to receive push notifications for all the breaking news in your area.
Available to download from the App Store or Google Play for Android now!
